


Sniffle

by WhatLetterAreWeTalkingAbout



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, but you can have a little bit of angst...as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25664155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatLetterAreWeTalkingAbout/pseuds/WhatLetterAreWeTalkingAbout
Summary: While Adora is away on a mission, Glimmer and Bow are tasked with caring for (and comforting) a distraught Catra as she deals with her first battle after the war: the flu.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 368





	Sniffle

**Author's Note:**

> For the She-Ra FluffBang!

The courtyard of Bright Moon bustled with activity. Packed to the brim with carts, wagons, and carriages, countless guards and castle employees were milling about, loading and organizing supplies and rations for travel. Horses of all colors were hooked up in full traveling tack, filling the air with whinnies of horse conversation, as well as the constant swell of conversation and yelling from all around.

Normally, the sound and activity would’ve made Catra anxious -if she weren’t staring into the lovingly comforting eyes of her girlfriend. Adora’s hand was barely on her shoulder, gentle and careful, but Catra’s own hand held it there. Not quite holding hands…but getting there. 

** “I won’t be gone for long.”  ** Adora was saying, gesturing to the crowd around them with her free hand. **“Queen Mermista -she’s the water one-requested help to rebuilding Sailneas, and she asked if I could help, because, ya know, She-Ra.”**

** “What an upgrade.”  ** Catra smiled, **“Saving the world, and now you’re a construction worker.”**

Adora laughed, rubbing the back of her head. **“I honestly prefer it this way. Besides, Sailneas _really_ got damaged -Horde Prime _along_ with that Horde Invasion -and uh, so yeah, fixing it up! It’ll be easy-peasy.” **

_ The Horde Invasion.  _ The one that Catra had planned, prepared, and executed herself, at the height of her strength in the Horde. The perfect example of the person she was and never wanted to be again, intent on destroying  everything until it was as broken and bleeding as she was, as though it could take away everything bad that had ever happened.

Yet, somehow, that very same person was standing in the middle of Bright Moon, even after everything she had done, and everyone she had hurt. 

How could that be? For a moment, she expected Adora’s hand to jerk away, for her to remember there was no forgiveness for people like her –

Her nails were digging into Adora’s hand.  With a start, Catra snapped to attention and quickly loosened her grip. She caught Adora’s concerned expression -damn her, she was so perceptive -and nearly hissed, embarrassment flattening her ears into her hair. She was so thrown off by the mere _mention_ of her past! Catra`s eyes dropped down to Adora`s hand. She could see the marks of her nails on Adora`s skin, red and angry against her otherwise pale skin. Guilt fluttered through her. She couldn’t let that happen again: worrying Adora was selfish, especially right before Adora left to _fix_ Catra’s mistakes.

Catra kept her voice even as she answered smilingly. **“With She-Ra’s arms? You’ll be done in like a week.”** She laughed, wrapping her tail around her leg to prevent its flicking. She watched closely for Adora’s body language to relax, but though Adora returned to a soft smile, her shoulders were still tense and her eyes focused a bit too intently to just be looking.

Carefully, Adora moved her hand from Catra’s shoulder to take Catra’s hand within her own . She laced their fingers together, the movement so tender that it made Catra`s breath catch in her throat. Adora`s hand should`ve been rough, but in that moment that Catra would’ve sworn they were made of silk. **“You’ll be okay while I’m gone?”** she asked, genuinely, _frustratingly_ , concerned.

Catra waved her free hand, glad that her fur covered the blush rising on her face. **“Okay? I’ll be _great.”_** she insisted, partially to sooth Adora, but mostly to distract herself from how her heart was racing from just _holding_ Adora`s hand, **“I’ll finally be able to climb those drapes without you yelling at me! I’m gonna have a party.”**

Adora’s shoulders relaxed just barely,  a small smile stealing across her features. **“Without me?”** she asked, mock-sad.

** “Yep. I’m gonna eat the _gray_ ration bars!”  ** Catra said, throwing her (non-held) hand out in mocking excitement, delighting in the laughter she was rewarded with. **“I won’t even miss you, I’ll be having such a good time.”**

** “Don’t be so mean!”  ** Adora gasped, **“Not even a little bit?”**

** “Nope. Not at all. I’m gonna…”  ** Catra paused, **“I’m gonna knock over all those shiny glass things in our room. Release a buncha birds into Glimmer’s room. Steal all the feathers from those fancy-pant guards hats.”**

Adora laughed  again, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Catra. **“ Then what, you’re gonna blame it on Kyle?”**

** “Yep.” **

Both of them giggled then. **“You have to miss me a _little_ bit.” **Adora said, **“Who’re you gonna spar with? Whose lap are you gonna sit on, huh?”**

Before Catra could answer, Glimmer called from behind them. **“Alright, lovebirds, it’s almost time to leave!”**

Catra rolled her eyes, barely having to glance over her shoulder to know that Glimmer was hand-in-hand with Bow. **“She calls _us_ lovebirds.” **She snickered, and Adora giggled, but when Catra looked back, she groaned at Adora’s expression. **“Oh, don’t look at me like that! ”**

Adora`s eyes were tracing Catras face as if she was trying to commit every curve, every angle to memory. As if this would be the last time she`d see Catra. Her voice was annoyingly gentle as she said, **“I’m really going to miss you.”**

** “Knock it off!  ** ** Sparkles will talk about this all week at this rate!”  ** Catra laughed, flustered, as she heard Glimmer giggling behind her. Nonetheless, she couldn’t help but inch a little bit closer to Adora, wanting to kiss her or at least hug her good-bye, but held in place but the caution weighing her down. She opted for second best, leaning up on her tip-toes to press her forehead against Adora’s, her tail flicking with anxious twitches.  Adora stiffened a little in surprise, but then quickly sank into the familiar gesture, and Catra could feel the tension leaving her body. 

Under  her breath, Adora whispered, **“Can I kiss you good-bye?”**

Catra’s tail flagged immediately, her fur spiking.  Her heart was hammering in her ears. Coolly, though a little too quickly, she whispered back, **“Of course.”**

She couldn’t help but purr as Adora kissed her, keeping her hand entwined within Adora’s. She was fully aware of Glimmer laughing at her waving tail, and Bow’s loud, **_“Awwww!”_**

As always, Catra was disappointed when Adora pulled away. In the month since everything had happened, romantic affection was few and far between, but growing more comfortable with time. Nonetheless, with each ended embrace, Catra worried the gap between them would bridge a thousand more miles as she woke up alone in the Horde, grasping a dream too pretty for her to have. 

Reluctantly, she unwound her hand from Adora’s, not being able to help letting her touch linger before stepping away to allow Glimmer and Bow to speak to her. She felt a warmth against her leg and glanced down to see Melog pressing against her, their mane a bright pink that matched Catra’s emotions. 

Catra barely hid her embarrassment, rolling her eyes at Melog’s cheeky purr . Damn cat was giving her away. 

Next to her, Adora embraced Glimmer, saying, **“You guys will call tonight?”**

Glimmer ‘mm-hmmed’ into Adora’s shoulder, and Bow patted Adora’s hair with his trackerpad. **“Yep! We’ll call every night until you’re back, and, if you aren’t busy, we can call over breakfast, too.”**

** “I’m glad I’ll still be able to talk to you guys.”  ** Adora moved to hug Bow. **“I haven’t even left, and I’m already excited to come home.”**

** “You’ll be back before you know it.”  ** Glimmer assured.

A loud trumpet sounded over the courtyard, a signal from Captain Juliet for the trip to begin. Swift Wind appeared from the crowd, probably from where he was speaking to the horses, galloping up to Adora. **“Ready to go, Adora? I haven’t stretched my wings in for-ever!”**

** “Almost.”  ** Adora answered, briefly petting Swift Wind’s neck before looking back to her friends. **“Bye Glimmer, Bow. I’ll miss you.”**

** “Aw, we’ll miss you, too, Adora!”  ** Glimmer and Bow gave Adora a final hug, squishing her between them. Glimmer pressed a kiss against Adora’s cheek, laughingly pulling away. **“Don’t get too sad, though. We’ll talk in a few hours!”**

** “Catraaa.”  ** Adora called, and Catra didn’t move from where she stood, though Glimmer and Bow parted for her way. **“I’m gonna miss you.”**

Catra stood rooted to the spot, ignoring the twinge of longing in her chest. She already felt lucky enough to have received a proper good-bye. She didn’t want to accidently ruin it by expecting more. 

** “I _guess_ I’ll miss you.”  ** She admitted, earning a laugh. After a pause, she glanced down at her hands. She could still feel the ghost of Adora`s touch, so soft and gentle. She closed her eyes. **“I’ll miss you a lot**.” Catra murmured quietly, hoping that maybe, Adora would hear her. Then, even though she didn’t move, Melog bounded forward and nuzzled Adora’s leg with a purr.

** “I love you, Catra.”  ** Adora said. Her voice was cautious, a little bit hesitant. Catra`s heart seemed to have stopped beating. This is what she wanted. This is what she craved. She couldn’t help but glance at Bow and Glimmer, seeing their excited smiles, waiting for Catra’s affirmative reply. 

_ I love you, too.  _ She wanted to say, but her throat closed around the words, despite how true they were. **“Oh, go fix Sailneas already, you dork.”** She said instead, and regretted it as soon as she said. For a split second, she saw Adora’s disappointment, but…she couldn’t force the words out, not with Glimmer and Bow and everyone so near. It felt so private and careful to say that she didn’t dare to out-loud, not in the open were it could be taken away.

Quickly, Catra swung around. **“Come on, Melog! We’ve got some curtains to shred.”** She waved good-bye, not daring to look over her shoulder to the quiet disappointment behind her, and walked off as casually and swiftly as she could. 

Melog caught up with her as she turned around a wagon. _Why are we leaving so soon?_ They asked, _Friend-Adora will be gone in a few minutes._

** “Whatever.”  ** Catra muttered. She was getting told off by a cat. **“We’ll talk to her later, when Bow calls her on his Tracker-.”**

She froze as her twitching ear caught Adora’s sigh .

** “Aw, what’s wrong, Adora?”  ** Glimmer asked, her voice faint above the bustle of the court-yard. **“Miss us already?”**

_ Why have we stopped?  _ Melog asked.

** “Shush.”  **

Adora’s response came after a pause. **“…No. I mean, of course I’ll miss you…I’m just…worried about Catra.”**

** “How come?”  ** Bow asked.

“ **When I first came, I was terrified, and I bet she is, too. But now it’s barely been a month, and I’m leaving her all alone.”** Catra could practically feel Adora’s shoulder slumping, her ear flicking miserably against the waver in Adora’s voice. **“What if she needs help while I’m gone? If she gets scared or hurts herself -I won’t be around to help her.”**

At first, a sharp anger pierced Catra, at the thought that Adora was babying her, coddling her, but it was quickly replaced with a crushing guilt settling in her stomach. Her tail drooped at the realization she was worrying Adora— distracting her. Catra glared at her hands. If only she hadn’t reacted like that earlier -Adora would’ve left feeling all happy and excited, eager to help, as always.

And Catra was ruining that, as always.

** “She’s not alone.”  ** Bow’s voice was comforting to Adora, but grating to Catra. Vaguely, she felt Melog press against her leg. **“Glimmer and I will be with her. I get that you’re worried, but we’ll make sure nothing happens while you’re gone, okay? We’ll help her if she needs it.”**

** “You can count on us!”  ** Glimmer sounded so chipper.

Catra  pulled away, rushing back to the castle. Her chest felt it was going to cave in, and she felt the familiar pricks of tears in her eyes. She blinked them away. Melog trotted along beside her. _Catra, why are you upset? You have their support._

** “I don’t need their support.”  ** Catra hissed, hating how her voice shook, hating how it betrayed her and made her seem weak. **“I’m not some _kitten_ in need of ‘protection’ _.”_**

With that, she disappeared into the empty halls of Bright Moon. 

* * *

Catra refused to give in the pansy princess shit of moping about alone and missing Adora. She had spent several years of her life doing just that, there was no way she would fall into it again that easily. 

She  forced herself to continue doing her duties with no change or halt, refusing to acknowledge the empty space where Adora often worked beside her. 

She was proud of herself for not giving in to the ache of her heart. To not fall into her old pattern. That was, until her body decided to wield a weapon of its own against her—lethargy. The weight of her weakness, she supposed, relying on the presence of someone as special as Adora, as She-Ra, who couldn’t be expected to cater to Catra’s every whimpering need while so much was expected of her.

The days seemed to get longer and her work harder to complete. With every day Adora was gone, Catra seemed to sleep in later and later, and yet wake up just as tired. The little energy she had was exhausted before she even came close to completing her daily tasks. 

It was infuriating.

With each morning her bleary eyes were blinded by the sun, she cursed herself and promised to correct her sleeping schedule _tomorrow._

She would have to interrupt Glimmer’s work in order to request work of her own to do. This was embarrassing and grew more so the later she slept in, especially with Glimmer smirking and laughing each time. 

** “Look, Bow, a teddy bear gained sentience -oh, it’s just Catra.”  **

** “Ha ha.”  ** Catra huffed, her tail lashing. Melog head-butted her leg, reminding her that it was just a joke, and Catra breathed heavily through her nostrils. **“Not my fault. Bright Moon _clearly_ has some type of sleeping-magic affecting me.”**

** “Oh, of course.” **

** “Anyways, what do you need me to do today?” **

** “Oooohhh, uhhh…”  **

Glimmer and Bow always had a copious amount of work to do. It was miracle that Catra could find Glimmer everyday, hidden behind stacks of documents and papers.

Glimmer was the Queen of Bright Moon and involved in nearly all rebuilding projects. Even with the help of her Royal Advisor and father, Lord Razzle-Dazzle -or, uh, Lord Micah- Glimmer still spent a majority of the day working. She was constantly talking to the other Princesses, to her subjects, to the guards, and though it had been months since Prime’s fall, Glimmer’s workload had not lessened in the slightest.

Bow, similarly, played a key role in aiding the rebuilding of Etheria. Not only was he a close advisor of all the Princesses, but his and Entrapta’s research was necessary to understanding the newfound magic within Etheria. Not to mention, he was a great inspirational speaker. His presence was requested at plenty of small villages looking for a glimmer of hope, and it was up to Bow to travel between towns, working as a one-man morale booster for millions of people.

However, while they seemed to get busier and busier with the days passing, Catra seemed to be running out of work to do. She understood why.

She got the Horde the closest it had ever gotten to destroying the Rebellion. She blew up Frosta’s castle, destroyed Sailneas, and gave Prime the map to finding Etheria when she opened the Portal. She was widely recognized and feared, and though the Princesses may have forgiven her, Catra wasn’t exactly a symbol of peace and prosperity in the eyes of the common person.

Regardless of Catra’s experience in negotiation and organization, it was probably better for everyone for her to be…out of the way.

With the focus on rebuilding for citizens over royalty, the most neglected part of Bright Moon was Bright Moon Castle, namely the horse stables and the gardens. While the people recovered, it wasn’t realistic to expect them to come and tend to the unruly gardens, or give the horses their previous training and exercise routines, beyond general feeding and maintenance. So Catra often took care of it.

The days she spent outside were long and quiet and impossibly hard. 

She shouldn’t have such a difficult time completing her chores outside. She cared for the horses, ensured the overgrowing garden didn’t swallow up the castle, and vaguely tried to remember how to tell the difference between a weed and the random ugly flowers growing all over the place.

Easy. 

Simple. 

After everything she had done, the _least_ she could do was weed a damn garden. She preferred to be outside _anyways_. She didn’t have to worry about bothering Glimmer or Bow. She didn’t have to worry about the whispers and glares thrown her way every time she paused by a guard. 

She was perfectly alone.

It was terrible.

The time spent weeding and watching horses gave her ample time to wander down the deep, dark paths of thought that were cruel and sad and regretful. There were too many times when she would blink her unfocused eyes to find they were teary, surprised by Melog suddenly pressing against her in concern.

_ Dear Catra, what upsets you?  _ They’d ask, nuzzling her.

** “It’s nothing! Back off!”  ** She’d spit, and then feel bad, and then apologize, but never explain. 

Her thoughts were slow and swampy, dark and biting, and accompanied by the dull, thudding pain of a headache that didn’t seem to go away. It seemed to only serve to distract her and shorten her temper, as though it wasn’t already short enough to begin with. It wasn’t enough to whine about -and she would never reveal a failing like that, anyways -but it was too much to ignore. 

Within these hours of tired and pained silence, her throat seemed to grow harsher and dryer by the hour. She blamed it on the blazing sun, but no matter how much water she drank, it never satisfied the grating pain. She felt like she had eaten gravel.

Though the times spent alone in the stable and garden sucked, nothing was worse than being inside. By the time sun had set, she would be exhausted, and practically stumble back into the Castle. There was no sleeping for her traitorous body, as before she could do that, she needed to have dinner with Glimmer, Bow, and Adora. Disappearing any sooner would have all three of them worrying about her…and she wouldn’t have that.

So she smiled. She laughed. She teased Glimmer, joked with Bow and made faces at Adora. She could pretend, for just a little bit, that her eyes that her eyes didn’t droop or that her hands didn’t tremble. She wouldn`t be a burden. Not when she was just lucky to be sitting here at all. 

On this particular night, three weeks after Adora had left, Catra’s energy to fake her happiness was wearing thin. 

Adora’s cheerful face was propped against the nearest table decoration, broad-casting where she sat in Sailneas. Mermista, Seahawk, and Mermista’s servant, Mermansta, attended with her, and Catra’s swimming head could barely keep up with their conversation.

** “It was a totallllll disaster.”  ** Mermista droned on, her monotone voice sounding like hammers on Catra’s skull. **“But luckily, there was some idiot who ran in and got like everyone out and stuff.”**

** “Yep!”  ** Adora said happily, **“No one was hurt -wait, who was the idiot? Me?”**

** “Oh, I don’t know. I forgot or whatever.”  ** Mermista answered, sarcasm dripping from each word. Adoras brow furrowed but before she could say anything, Seahawk interrupted her,

** “She-Ra made sure no one got squished!! It was an adventure.”  ** He sang.

Seahawk’s singing alone made Catra’s headache a thousand times worse. At the sudden swell of pain, she focused her attention on the food in front of her -it had a long, fancy name that she didn’t care enough to remember, but all that mattered was that it was meat of some kind and it was expensive or whatever. She stabbed it with her fork with intent focus, watching how easily she could impale it. She was sure she would like it, but the mere thought of eating filled her with nausea. 

She slipped the meat to Melog instead, who glowed a happy gold as they munched on it. 

Glimmer groaned. **“That sounds _so_ exciting!”**

** “A building collapsed. That’s bad.”  ** Bow pointed out. **“I’m glad everyone’s okay.”**

** “Hmph. Better than sitting around with all these documents.” **

_ Better than being here,  _ thought Catra miserably. She wanted more than anything for dinner to finish so she could go to bed. It was much easier to ignore her body when she was unconscious. She could feel her agitation rising. 

** “No complaining.”  ** Mermista was barely on screen, but Catra caught the familiar roll of her eyes. **“I’ve got twice the documents and half the buildings you have.”**

** “What is this, a pity party?”  ** Catra snarked before she could stop herself. She bit her tongue immediately afterwards, but no bite could reverse that. For a second, the conversation stopped, allowing Catra to regret every decision in her life before Mermista answered.

** “Yeah, since _someone_ got my whole kingdom destroyed, I thought I’d have a lot to talk about.”  ** Mermista said icily. **“Didn’t mean for you to be invited.”**

Catra wished she could choke on the gravel in her throat. She should have apologized and left it at that, but her fur fluffed and she suddenly felt very _hot -_ like a vapor cloud around her head, plastering her spiky ears down to sweaty hair. Her sandpaper teeth bared, and she spat from her dry tongue, **“Shut up, Fish Sticks. I didn’t fucking want to be here anyways. I’ll _gladly_ leave your stupid party.”**

She wanted to yell, but her voice was a pathetically raspy display for such a weak insult. She shoved her chair away from the table, and in that split second, Melog shot out from underneath, red mane blazing, howling out a shocking roar and swiping at the Tracker Pad. 

Thoroughly embarrassed, Catra used Melog’s distraction to storm out of the room. 

** “Melog! Down!” **

** “Catra!” **

She didn’t pause at Adora’s weak call to her, and instead slammed the door beyond her. She didn’t have the patience to walk away pridefully, and humiliation and shame quickly caught up to her, leaving her running down the hall. Her head pounded, and the hot cloud had yet to disperse and she barely made it to the bathroom before she vomited. 

A wave of exhaustion hit her, but it wasn’t as loud as the panic in her chest. She wiped her mouth, trying to untangle her thoughts from the hellscape of her mind. She had just made a _big_ mistake -she had yelled at a Queen in front of everyone, in front of Adora, after insisting that she’d be fine without her. They were all going to be furious. 

And worse, she wouldn’t be in a state to protect herself. If any of them knew of -whatever it was that she was feeling -it would be, as Double Trouble liked to say, curtains. She had to hide somewhere, but she could barely see past her watery eyes, and so she ran down the hallways to the first dark place she could find.

She found her place in the heights of a tall wall closet. It was full of blankets and bed sets, but the highest selves, which were barely visible from the shadows, were empty, and so Catra climbed up and carefully closed the door behind her.

It was very quiet.

She supposed it was better that way. 

* * *

**“I have to go to that meeting soon.”**

**“I know…but we can wait a little bit longer, can’t we?”**

Bow and Glimmer sat at the dining hall, long after everyone else had sorted out. The table had been cleared of plates, already cleaned by the staff and Glimmer’s restless hand wiping it with her cape. Bow’s Tracker Pad lit up with the reminder of an ever-nearing meeting. Next to Glimmer, a shiny white plate held an untouched breakfast, that had long since grown cold.

Glimmer had intended it for Catra. 

A prickle of unease went through Glimmer as she stared at Catra`s plate. The last they had seen of her had been barred by the slamming door. 

By the time they went looking for her -nearly an hour after she left, due in part to how long it took to calm Melog, as well as calming Adora, who was hysterical, insisting she needed to return home to check on Catra -she was nowhere to be found. Even Melog seemed to be baffled, filling the wandering halls with a miserable wailing.

 **“Catra will come out when she’s ready.”** Bow said, eyeing the Trackerpad. **“It isn’t your job to sit around waiting for her.”**

 **“I know that.”** Glimmer said, a little defensively. **“It`s just—we told Adora we’d watch out for Catra. She’s been so chill since Adora left; I didn’t expect her to flip out like that. I just want to know _why_.”**

Bow nodded. He tore his gaze away from the tracker pad to look at Glimmer, brows furrowed. **“I wonder what was agitating her. I think she’s been enjoying working in the gardens and the stables…but maybe she was just tired yesterday or… really missing Adora.”**

**“I guess** **that’s why I’m asking.”**

**“Don’t like…overwork yourself, I guess.”** Bow cautioned, in the way one does when they’ve made the same mistake. Glimmer smiled at him sympathetically: she knew that he was worried about her taking responsibility for Catra’s happiness, the same way he did -and does -for his friends. **“If she doesn’t want your help, then you can’t force her.”**

 **“I know,”** Glimmer started to say, but was cut off by the sound of the door handle turning. Both Bow and Glimmers heads whipped around to watch as it was slowly, hesitantly opened.

Glimmer stood immediately – **“Catra! I’m glad you’re here -look, I saved you breakfast!”** She said, maybe a bit _too_ enthusiastically, gesturing to the plate. **“We might need to warm it up -um, Catra?”** she trailed off, looking around uncertainly. Catra was nowhere to be found. She dropped her hand, glancing uncertainly at Bow, sharing their confusion.

It took Glimmer a moment to spot Melog, looking where she was at Catra’s height. The small cat-beast’s head poked around the door, ears droopy and sad, slinking into the room. Their mane, normally a calm blue, had morphed into a dull, swampy green. Their tail dragged against the floor, and they stopped; staring. After a second, they meowed. And then again, and again, and again, insistently. 

**“Oh, heeey, Melog.”** Glimmer said, her voice quickly fading from disappointment to concern. **“That’s…a weird color.”**

Carefully, Bow picked up the Trackerpad, just as it displayed the final reminder of his meeting with Captain Juliet. **“Melog is connected to Catra’s emotions, aren’t they?”** he asked, **“I’ve never seen that color before.”**

They looked at each other. 

**“…I think I’m going to go look for her.”**

**“Yeah, I think you should look for her.”**

Bow and Glimmer parted ways for Bow to attend his meeting. Glimmer still had time before a scheduled meeting with her father, Micah, and she was willing to spend it checking on Catra. A spike of worry shot through her. _What could possibly be wrong?_

Melog, however lethargic, seemed to walk faster than Glimmer, moving with intention down the long, winding hallways. Several times, Glimmer had to teleport just to keep up with them. They led her down to a hallway that Glimmer had practically forgot existed -there were only so many rooms that were actively used, and as a result, some hallways weren’t traversed as much as others. Glimmer could’ve sworn she was being led down a labyrinth, but in the end, Melog stopped in front of a closet built into the wall.

Glimmer stared at it **. “Uh, you sure this is the right place, buddy?”** Glimmer asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice. Why would Catra be in…a closet?

Melog pressed their head against the tall, white doors, pawing them. Glimmer could see thin scratches dug into the wood. Melog must’ve tried to open it themselves. Melog stepped back, staring expectantly.

Glimmer sighed. She didn`t have any better ideas. “ **If you say so…** ” she said, pulling the door open. 

She was greeted by shelves full of blankets and bed sets. 

_Great. Am I going to have to sort through all of this?_

Melog nudged her again, almost impatiently. Glimmer gave them a dubious look before she stuck her head into the closet. **“Catra?”** she asked, glancing up into the heights of the closet. For just a second, a pair of mismatched eyes stared down at her, disappearing as quickly as they appeared. Her shoulders dropped.

Of course _._ She should’ve realized Catra was _hiding._ Why did she think that Catra would want to talk to her anyways? She wasn’t half the friend to her as Adora was, no matter how close she thought they had grown. Glimmer swallowed. She wished Bow were here.

Melog made a whining sound, and Glimmer turned to them, holding out her hand, to which they unhappily pressed their head into. **“Aw, don’t worry, Melog. I’ll take care of Catra.”** She assured. She looked up into the closet. _If she`ll talk to me, that is_.

**“Thank you for showing me.”**

With that, she teleported up.

Catra’s first reaction was to hiss, and Glimmer caught the brief gleam of her teeth at the summoning of her magic, lighting the closet softly. _This is going to be fun._ Glimmer thought, her stomach sinking.

They were on an empty shelf, up in the closet’s corner, which was spacious enough for her to sit cross-legged. It was nice— she barely had to haunch over to avoid hitting the ceiling. Catra, on the other hand, didn’t seem to realize this, sitting pressed against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest.

Catra blinked at the sudden light, and for a second, they stared at each other.

Her expression was one of pure misery, her eyes watery and ears hanging flat. She could see where her fur had grown misty from her watery eyes and nose, where her mouth had grown raw from rubbing it. Her hair was slick and sweaty and bags hung under her eyes. 

Catra blinked several times, and Glimmer wondered if she was trying to figure out if she was dreaming Glimmer or not. Glimmer spoke first, uncertain. **“Hey, Catra.”** She said quietly, and Catra groaned, turning to stare into the blank corner. **“Uh…you look great. New hair…?”**

 **“Go away, Sparkles.”** Catra’s voice was hoarse and choked. _Sore throat, or crying…. or both?_

 **“No, thanks, I’ll stay here.”** Glimmer said, deciding to make her voice light and teasing. She folded her hands politely on her lap, smiling contently at Catra. She hoped for some sort of smile back, hoping she could extend her own comfort to Catra. **“I didn’t take you for a minimalist. Is your room not good enough anymore?”**

 **“Leave me _alone.”_** Catra hissed.

 **“Haven’t you been alone for long enough?”** Glimmer asked flippantly, ignoring how the comment stung. **“I haven’t seen you since last night. Melog’s been looking for you.”**

**“I _know_ that.”**

**“Wouldn’t you rather be like…I don’t know, anywhere else?”**

**“I was fine here, until you showed** **up.”** Catra snapped hoarsely. Faintly, Glimmer could hear her lashing tail thumping against the wall next to her.

Glimmer glanced up at the ceiling. Catra was really not cooperating here. Cutting to the chase, she deadpanned, **“Catra, you’re obviously sick. I think you have the flu.”**

Catra fur spiked as though jolted with electricity. **“No, I’m NOT!”** She spat, whipping around, teeth flashing. Immediately, her voice caught and she covered her mouth, turning away as she started coughing so hard she shook. Glimmer instinctively reached out to comfort her, quickly pulling her hand away at Catra’s answering flinch and stuttering snarl.

**“…You _clearly_ are. You need a bath, a nap, and some medicine, like, yesterday. Why don’t we get out of this stuffy closet, and we can get you some help?”**

Glimmer held her hand out in the hopeful silence, prepared to teleport Catra back to her room as soon as she said the word.

**“…No.”**

**“What? Why not?!”** Glimmer cried.

**“Because I don’t need to be _babied._ I can take care of myself.” **

Frustrated, Glimmer said, **“I’m not going to let** **you suffocate in your own snot, in some _random_ closet, just because you’re too proud to take a nap.”**

Catra’s fur bristled, her voice snarling. **“Don’t act like you care! If Adora didn’t ask you to ‘look out for me’ you wouldn’t be here.”** She accused, her voice a bitter mockery of Adora’s request. **“I’m not some _kitten,_ I’m not _weak_ , and I don’t _need_ you guys worrying about me all the time! I _should_ be able to take care of myself -I shouldn’t _need help_ –I-I can’t -,”**

Despite her pointed fangs and curling claws, Catra’s voice shook, stumbling from a fiery spit to a quiet hiss, breaking off at the end. She turned the palms of her hands into her irritated eyes and it seemed it wasn’t just illness making her eyes weep. 

At the sight, Glimmer was reminded of something Adora once said. _“What do you do when_ you _have a cold?” “Remain out of sight! …What? Displays of physical weakness are strongly discouraged in the Horde.”_

Glimmer felt her stomach twist. Catra’s sickness didn’t look the same as Glimmer’s. When Glimmer was younger, Angella abandoned all of her duties at her first sniffle, insisting on wrapping Glimmer up in blankets. To Glimmer, sickness was uncomfortable -but it was also reading stories with her mother by the fireplace, draped in her comfiest clothes, sending letters back and forth with Bow, full of complaints and get-well wishes.

Adora had never spoken about being sick in the Horde, but Glimmer could imagine: losing rations as punishment, falling behind in training, trying to hide it away, avoiding punishment if caught. 

Glimmer took a deep breath. 

Catra wasn’t angry. She was _scared._

She was first unsure of how to approach the prickly catgirl, without scaring her, or cornering her further. She knew it was likely that Catra would relapse into old survival tactics when threatened, just as Adora had when she first came. 

She knew it was tough. She knew to expect it. 

She knew she wouldn’t let Catra suffer it alone.

 **“Okay. Let’s try again.”** Glimmer said, **“It…seemed like you were really agitated last night. I guess this must be why, huh?**

**“I…I didn’t mean to.”** Catra choked, curling further into herself. The sharpness etched in her words had been lost to a tired wilt, withering her voice into a whisper. 

**“No, I didn’t mean it in a _bad_ way.” **Glimmer said quickly, **“I know it wasn’t your intention to pick a fight with Mermista. You must’ve been feeling really bad for you to react like that.”**

Catra didn’t answer that. She moved to hug herself, the heels of her hands wet with tears.

 **“We’re not mad at you.”** Glimmer said, perhaps not the most convincingly. Catra flinched, her tail wrapping around her legs. Glimmer swallowed. She tried again. **“I mean, at first, I was annoyed, but just because it took forever to calm Adora down. She was worried something was wrong with you. She was half about to steal a boat and come home to check on you.”**

Glimmer thought talking about Adora would comfort Catra, and was shocked when Catra wretched, coughed, and started crying. She covered her face with her hands, pressing her head against her knees, too upset to speak.

Glimmer, unsure of what had upset Catra, continued, trying to reassure her. **“Bow was worried, too. He’s at a meeting right now, but he wanted to make sure you were okay. We were waiting for you at breakfast -maybe I should’ve brought you something, huh?”**

Catra looked absolutely devastated at that one. She dug her hands into her hair, pulling her ears against her head, big tears rolling down her face. Glimmer could hear Melog wailing at the foot of the closet, overwhelmed by Catra’s emotional response. Glimmer was starting to get overwhelmed by it, too. She wanted to comfort her. Help her feel safe. But all she was doing was making it _worse._

**“I was worried about you, too. After I was done being annoyed. You’ve been putting so much effort into being the best Catra you can be, that I think it scared me when last night because I thought -and I guess, I still think -that something might have been bothering you for a while.”**

Glimmer left it at that. 

In the wake of the silence, Catra choked out, barely audible beneath her hiding hands, **_“I’m sorry.”_**

**“What for?”**

Catra sniffled miserably. She whispered, **“I’m sorry…for…”** she was cut off by her own mix of a cry and a cough, and seemingly lost the will to continue beyond that. She started up again after a minute, weakly, **“I didn’t want to scare you.”**

**“What would scare me?”**

**“You’re so busy.”** Catra stuttered, and she hid her face again, clearly embarrassed. **“And Bow…and…Adora. I didn’t want to get in the way. I didn’t want you guys to worry about me.”**

 **“Catra, getting help doesn’t mean you’re in the way.”** Glimmer said, **“Everyone needs help sometimes -especially when they’re sick.”**

Catra repeated, **“I didn’t want to worry you. But I think I made it worse. I’m -so _tired_ and everything _hurts_ and I was trying to act…okay. But yesterday I couldn’t. I wasn’t really mad at Mermista. I was just…tired.”**

Glimmer nodded sympathetically. **“You must be exhausted.”**

 **“I knew something was wrong.”** Catra whimpered, **“When Adora first left.”**

 **“But that was weeks ago.”** Glimmer said, her eyes widening. **“Oh, Catra, has it really been that long?”**

Dolefully, Catra nodded. **“I heard Adora ask you to watch out for me.”** Her voice shuddered. **“But you’ve already done so much for me. I’m lucky to even _be_ here. I wanted to prove that I wasn’t weak o-or whatever.”**

 **“Help does _not_ make you weak.” **Glimmer said firmly, echoing exactly what she had told Adora a thousand times. **“It makes you stronger. It’s really brave to admit when you need something and to ask for it. I understand why you’d feel scared, with how the Horde raised you, but you’re safe here. Bow and I are always happy to help you.”**

 **“I wish I could’ve helped you before you got so sick.”** She said, feeling herself growing upset. She had promised Adora to look out for Catra, but no wonder she had missed the signs: she had barely spoken to Catra outside of their shared meals. **“But I can help you now, okay?”**

Catra could barely make eye contact, but Glimmer could see the tears rolling down her face. Bravely, she looked to Glimmer, pulling herself away from the wall. 

**“Promise?”**

**“Promise.”** Glimmer said. **“Can I _finally_ hug you now?”**

Catra didn’t respond, but she carefully leaned over and pressed herself against Glimmer, relaxing into her gentle embrace. Catra sniffled, and whispered, **“Thanks, Sparkles.”**

 **“Happy to help, Fuzzy.”** Glimmer answered, allowing Catra to curl up against her. **“Now, do you want me to teleport you to your room? I promise, _any_ bed is comfier than up here.”**

Catra stiffened at the mention of teleportation. Glimmer felt her claws press into her cape, where her arms were wrapped around her back, but after a moment, she loosened her grip, realizing that Glimmer wouldn’t teleport without her permission.

 **“…Maybe we could walk, instead.”** Catra suggested weakly, embarrassed.

**“Of course.”**

Though it meant they had to let go of one another, Melog happily greeted Catra after Glimmer had helped her down. Dizzy and tired, Catra allowed Glimmer to hold her hand and lead her back to the safety of her room, with Melog purring, curling around her legs. 

* * *

* * *

Catra stood in front of the door of her bathroom, hesitant to open it. Her fur was warm and fluffy, recently dried after taking a bath under Order of the Queen, and she knew for sure that Glimmer would comment on it. She could hear Glimmer on the other side of the door, in Catra (and Adora’s) room, shuffling about as though she was rearranging furniture. 

After making such a show of crying like that, Catra felt a bit embarrassed to be returning to Glimmer’s presence. That, and Glimmer had taken the opportunity to switch out Catra’s clothes with… _pajamas._

When she first saw the neatly folded clothing sitting on the counter, Catra assumed that Glimmer made a mistake: from afar, it looked as though Glimmer was expecting Catra to wear a blanket. Touching it reinforced the idea: they were softer than she knew that clothes could _be._ They seemed to be made from velvet. Or maybe clouds.

They were sleeveless, red, and perfectly the style of clothing she liked. Catra held it up to her chest— it looked like it would fit her perfectly, and she wondered if Glimmer had specifically picked them out for her. She didn’t remember ever telling Glimmer what her favorite clothes were, but it didn’t seem like a stretch that Adora would hand over Catra’s clothing size.

She stared at herself in the mirror a small smile pulling at her lips— and that’s when she noticed _it._ There— at the center of the shirt— was a creature staring back at her. It was pointy-eared, little and brown, a mischievous smile gracing its features. What was more was that it had an acute resemblance to Catra herself. She didn’t want to laugh at the mini-Catra grinning at her, and she _certainly_ didn’t want to admit that it was cute…but she couldn’t help but feel a little touched. 

Slipping the shirt on, she turned her attention to the pants. They weren’t as tight-fitting as she was used to, with the fabric loose enough that she could easily roll it up if she wanted. More importantly however, was that they felt as though they were made out of lamb wool. The whole outfit felt like a warm hug.

She hated how much she liked it.

She really hated the thought of admitting that to Glimmer. She could already see her self-satisfied grin.

Somehow, though, the thought of that grin was enough to give her the confidence to open the door. Stepping through carefully, she glanced around, noting that Glimmer didn’t appear to be in the room now: although she was clearly going to return. The dusty scent of magic hung in the air, and Catra barely avoided sneezing and agitating her already fucked up throat. 

Glancing around, she saw that Glimmer had indeed been rearranging furniture. A pile of blankets rested on the foot of Catra’s bed, and there were two cozy chairs in the corner of her room that was normally empty. Against the wall, next to Adora’s work-desk, was a secondary, empty desk and chair. Catra could understand the blankets and the chairs, but she wasn’t sure how Glimmer expected her to…sleep on a desk, maybe?

Melog perked up from where they sat on one of the new chairs. Purring happily, mane flashing a comfortable blue, they leapt down and trotted over to greet Catra. **_“Feeling better, Catra?”_** they asked, as she kneeled down to say hello.

 **“Better is probably a stretch.”** Catra answered quietly, unwilling to talk louder than her scratchy throat would tolerate. **“Cleaner, though. And very tired.”**

 ** _“Friend-Glimmer is preparing our den for your rest.”_** Melog assured. **_“Better than the hole you were hiding in.”_**

 **“Oh, hush.”** Catra laughed, though this triggered a burst of coughing, which she hid behind her hand. She swatted Melog’s ear with her free hand. **“You’re lucky I’m here now.”**

**_“True.”_ **

Just as Catra finished coughing, Glimmer reappeared, her burst of magic immediately irritating Catra’s nose and eyes. **“Bless you.”** Glimmer said, from behind a stack of…pillows? She held several cushy, pink pillows in her arms.

Glimmer peered past the pillows, and with a gasp, dropped them onto the floor. **“You look so cute!”** she cooed, igniting a flustered blush onto Catra’s face. **“Do you like them? I had them made for you _ages_ ago. Specifically,” **Glimmers eyes flicked down to the creature on her chest, her smile growing “ **the kitten.”**

 ** _“A gift!”_** Melog purred, their tail lashing gleefully. Catra shared in their excitement, though she laughed while Melog’s mane flicked gold.

 **“Whatever, Sparkles. Knock it off.”** Unsure of how to respond to the unexpected delight of receiving a gift, she rubbed her arm, glancing away from Glimmer’s endearing expression. She added, a bit awkwardly, **“I like it though. The 'kitten'.”**

 **“I knew you would.”** Glimmer answered, grabbing up the pillows she had dropped and throwing them onto Catra’s bed. **“Adora has no taste for comfy clothing: she’s always sleeping in her work-out get up, but I knew you’d appreciate the luxury of nice pajamas.”**

 **“They’re really soft.”** Catra agreed.

**“They look great, too. I guess you could say they’re the _cat’s pajamas, right?”_**

Hazily, Catra recognized the pun, immediately turning to glare at Glimmer. **“Sparkles.”** She said hoarsely, **“If I wasn’t dying, I would’ve killed you for that.”**

 **“Suure you would.”** Glimmer said casually, flicking her hand dismissively. **“Look, Fuzzy, you’d be more threatening if you didn`t look like a single sneeze would knock you over.”**

 **“Hmph.”** Catra crossed her arms, annoyed that Glimmer was probably right. Deciding not to respond further, she watched silently as Glimmer began arranging the pillows on her bed. Ten pillows were lined up against the headpiece of the bed, thankfully upgraded from Adora’s cot, although there were roughly about eight more pillows than necessary. Catra’s bed already had pillows: two of them, one for her, and one for Adora. **“What’s with the pillows?”** she finally asked, **“Is it common in Bright Moon to smother people once they get sick? Because I think you could`ve gotten the job done with just one.”**

 **“Uh, no.”** Glimmer said with a roll of her eyes. **“I know Adora is all stuffy about one-pillow-per-person, but after experiencing the joys of having a billion pillows, there is no going back.”**

Catra raised an eyebrow. She happened to agree with Adora. **“Whatever you say, Sparkles.”**

 ** _“It does look rather comfortable.”_** Melog mused, their head tilted with interest. Catra could tell they were just planning on jumping in and hogging all the space. 

Almost as if she heard Melog, Glimmer added **“The more pillows the better.”** Catra watched as Glimmer finished arranging the final pillow. It did look rather inviting. Glimmer, seeing Catra waver, patted the bed encouragingly. Catra made to take a step forward before she paused. What if smothering people _was_ common, and they lured you into the bed by having it look comfy? Beside her, Catra felt Melog tense. Then, suddenly the black cat-beast bounded away from Catra’s side, collapsing into the blankets. After a moment, they rolled over to stare at Catra expectantly. 

**“I’m holding you to that.”** Catra said with a sigh, moving towards the bed. If she got smothered it’d be Melogs fault **“This better be the best nap of my life.”**

The blankets were exceptionally soft, especially paired with the silk of her pajamas. Ten pillows were definitely better than two, and two blankets was better than one Catra decided as she sank into their fluffy embrace. **“One more thing…”** From the bedside table, Catra had failed to notice a cloth that Glimmer must’ve gotten while she was in the bath. Glimmer picked it up, and Catra immediately noticed that it was _wet._

 **“What is that?”** Catra asked, pulling herself back up to sit and move away from the _soggy, clammy, disgusting_ and _wet_ cloth. 

**“It’s just water!”** Glimmer explained, laughingly exasperated. **“You put it on your forehead. It’ll help with your fever.”**

Catra groaned. _Yeah,_ her head hurt, but that didn’t mean she wanted to wear _that_ as a cloth hat. Humoring Glimmer, she wearily reached out to take it and - _cold! Cold and wet! I hate this!!_ She dropped it on the bed, **“I’m not touching that!”** she cried, pulling her hand away, shaking it frantically.

**“C’mon, Catra, it’ll help you.”**

**_“No.”_ **

Glimmer sighed, picking up the cloth. **“If you want a headache forever, then you don’t have to.”** She said, shrugging, **“It was just a suggestion.”**

Catra crossed her arms. She knew full well that Glimmer would only suggest it if it _did_ work, but that didn`t mean she had to like it. **“Well, it’s dumb anyways.”** She insisted. **“If I wear it, it’d just fall off.”**

 **“You’re supposed to lay down.”** Glimmer said, deadpan.

 **“Oh.”** Said Catra, pausing. She found she no longer had any more points to argue. **“I…I guess that makes sense.”**

**“So, do you want it or not?”**

Catra huffed. The thought of having a stupid wet cloth on her forehead was unappealing, but so was having a fever. **“Fine.”** She said. However, when she didn’t make the move to lay down, Glimmer reached over and pushed Catra over with her free-hand. It was embarrassingly easy to do so. Cross armed, Catra glared up at the ceiling, allowing Glimmer to lay the cloth over her forehead. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it’d be. 

She didn’t mention it.

With that, Glimmer made her way across the room, closing the drapes against the open doors of the balcony, allowing a weak darkness to fall about the room. 

**“Sleep well, Catra.”** Glimmer said, **“I’ll see you later, okay?”**

After three weeks of working and hiding symptoms and sleeping with no rest, Catra should’ve fallen asleep immediately. However, at the sight of Glimmer making to leave, the thought of sleeping alone felt devastating. Even after three weeks of sleeping without Adora, it wasn’t the same: she didn’t want her bed to be empty and the room so full of silence. Before she could doubt herself – **“Could you stay? For a bit?”**

 **“Oh.”** Glimmer said, just as her hand hovered over the door handle. **“Of course I can.”**

As it turned out, the empty desk Glimmer had teleported it had been meant for her -supposedly to do work on while hanging out with Catra. The small gap between the bed and the desk seemed much larger from Catra’s point of view. It felt like the comfort of Glimmer’s touch was a million miles away, and in that space Catra immediately felt her stupid, hazy brain start making up reasons, that Glimmer didn’t _actually_ want to help and was lying and was trying to leave her and –

Catra cut herself off. **“I’m not in quarantine, am I?”** Catra joked lightly, **“I thought your magic princess powers would protect you from the flu.”**

 **“If that’s your way of asking if I could sit with you, then yes, I can.”** Glimmer answered, seeing right through Catra’s attempt to sarcasm her way into friendship.She came and sat on the bed, close enough that Catra could hold her hand if she wanted. A wave of relief flooded through her. Catra didn’t like to sleep alone, even with Melog there. But when she tried to close her eyes again, she found that even with Glimmer next to her, she still wanted to close the empty space between them. She _needed_ to feel the comforting touch of her trusted friend, to chase away the empty isolation of the past weeks. Though rejection was always a looming threat, and anxiety never seemed to be silent, Catra felt oddly certain that Glimmer would welcome her. The thought alone gave some sort of comfort.

 **“Thank you.”** Catra said lightly. After a moment, a thought occurred to Catra. With a sly smile, she turned to face Glimmer. “ **So, you won’t get sick if I touch you, though?”**

 **“Nope. Unless it’s like some magic thing, I never get sick.”** Glimmer shrugged casually, not seeming to fully realize how unrelatable that statement was, especially to Catra right now. **“Super Princess Powers.”**

 **“Cool.”** Catra said, inching her way a little bit closer to Glimmer. 

**“Why do you ask?”** Glimmer asked. 

_Almost there._

**“Oh, no reason. Just making sure that you have no reason to smother me.”**

**“I told you, I`m not going to smother you.”** Glimmer said, rolling her eyes.

_Now’s my chance._

Watching Glimmer from the corner of her eye, Catra rolled back up to her arms, pulling herself the last couple of inches to Glimmer, and expertly collapsed onto her lap. **“I should’ve known!”** Glimmer laughed; eyes as bright as her sparkling hair. **“You had an evil plan all along.”**

Catra shrugged, allowing Glimmer to reset the cloth to her head, partly covering her eyes. She didn’t complain, though, as the cold was oddly soothing to the irritation. **“You were just sitting there. How was I expected not to take such an easy opportunity?”**

 **“I can’t blame you; my guard was down.”** Glimmer sighed. 

Catra didn’t respond, allowing silence to fall. She was used to the quiet with Glimmer, though the sparkly queen was talkative and fiery. There was something calming about the silence they built together on Horde Prime’s ship. When they sat together, however long, they didn’t always need words to fill the empty space of the ship. At first, it was just nice to know someone was there. Catra was glad they were friends, both to speak to eachother and be quiet together. 

As much as she wanted to, though, Catra found she couldn’t sleep, even with her body draped across Glimmer. She felt wide awake: the exhaustion and pain inside her didn’t seem to translate to sleepiness. Catra had never been one to take naps: that would’ve gotten her thrown out the window in the Horde. Now, she supposed, it was coming back to bite her.

 **“What did you do when you got sick, in the Horde?”** Glimmer asked. Maybe she noticed her tail flicking, quietly agitated with sudden awake-ness in her, or how tensely she held her body, regardless of how she tried to appear comfortable. Nonetheless, Catra appreciated the distraction from the impossibility of sleeping.

 **“We definitely didn’t get awarded with new pillows, that’s for sure.”** Catra said.

**“With how Adora is, I was shocked when I found out that Horde even _had_ pillows.”**

Catra stifled a laugh, not wanting to pain her throat. Adora was weird about pillows. **“We normally had _one_ pillows.” **She corrected. **“When I became Force Captain, I got _two_ pillows.” **No number of pillows or blankets could’ve made Catra like her lonely Force Captain bed, but it was bragging rights nonetheless.

 **“Woooow.”** Glimmer said, unimpressed. **“Glow up.”**

**“Mmhm. You just tried not to get sick, and if you did, you either sucked it up or you hid until you wouldn’t get your tail ripped off in training. Lonnie had _no_ qualms against that.”**

**“Your tail really healed well.”**

Catra nodded, almost knocking off her cloth. She settled for an affirmative ear flick. **“Yeah, we used duct-tape. Bet you never would’ve guessed unless I told you.”** She said, purring lightly at Glimmer’s responding laugh.

 **“Did you ever have like, bedtime stories? In the Horde? Like, kid books and stuff.”** Catra wasn’t sure what Glimmer was thinking there. The Horde hardly ever had books in the first place, let alone books for children. They did, however, have _stories_ that were whispered back and forth in the hallways and messhalls, though she wasn’t sure if they were exactly what Glimmer meant.

**“Uh, name an example?”**

**“Like, did you ever have anything like Mr. Sparklepaws? The Adventures of Cowl the Owl? The Princess of Moonlight?”** Glimmer listed the points off her fingers. Catra cringed at each one -they sounded like what she’d expect softies to be reading. 

**“I’m gonna let you guess.”** She responded dryly. 

**“Hmmm, this is hard.”** Glimmer mused. **“Yes. I bet you were a _huge_ fan of Mr. Sparklepaws.”**

**“Sorry, I thought my sarcasm was obvious. No, we didn’t have that shit.”**

**“Oh, sorry, I thought _my_ sarcasm was obvious. What did you have, then?”**

Catra paused, shooting Glimmer a glare, but Glimmer merely stuck her tongue at her, unstoppably sassy. Catra relented with a roll of her eyes. **“There was the Weeping Princess, for one.”** she said.

 **“I know that one. Adora mentioned it.”** Glimmer nodded, glancing off as though the story was attached to a memory. Catra would have to ask Adora about that later.

 **“Yeah, that one terrified Adora _forever._ The wind would go the wrong way and she’d jump out of her skin. It was _hilarious.”_** Catra purred heartily, the sound coming out scratchy and warped. ** _“_ Kyle was always scared of the Headless Princess though.”**

**“Lots of princesses.”**

**“Yeah. It’s kinda obvious in retrospect.”** The Horde wasn’t exactly subtle in their propaganda; it was probably a good thing Catra didn’t care enough to argue it when she was younger. **“ _My_ favorite story was the Beast in the Vents.”**

**“Let me guess -a beast. In the vents.”**

**“Yeah. I liked it because _I_ could fit in the vents when I was younger and I’d chase Lonnie around and scare her.”** Catra flicked her ears, smiling at the thought. Though the Horde left basically everything to be desired, at least she was able to experience the simple pleasure of tormenting her frenemies. **“I stopped doing that when I was like, eight, because I saw the actual Beast in the Vents. Then it wasn’t so funny to be in the vents.”**

 **“Did you really?”** Glimmer half-laughing. From her expression, it seemed she was the weighing the odds of the Beast in the Vents being real or fake.

 **“Nah, it was probably just some fucked up raccoon.”** Catra giggled. **“But I had nightmares for months. I was lucky that Adora tolerated me waking her up all the time, telling her that _‘this time it’s_ really _here!”_**

 **“The Horde tells some messed-up stories.”** Glimmer noted.

 **“Well, maybe we didn’t need bedtime stories.”** Catra sniffed, **“What type of shit did you have?”**

 **“They were just like, little books with super chill story lines. They were all about like making friends or going on adventures to save the moon and stuff like that. _My_ favorite was Mr. Sparklepaws.” **Glimmer said, her voice cool and collected, although she put just a bit too much emphasis on Mr. Sparklepaws. She was clearly planning on telling Catra about him.

 **“Ugh, I’ll give, but only because I’m planning on falling asleep in like two minutes. Who’s Mr. Sparklepaws?”** Catra groaned begrudgingly. 

**“Well, I’m glad you asked!”** Glimmer smiled, speaking over Catra’s following laugh. **“When I was younger, my mom made up a character called Mr. Sparklepaws. She wanted me to have an imaginary friend.”**

 **“That’s so lame.”** Catra scoffed. Even as a child, she had friends, and she was Catra.

**“Shush, you’re going to bed. She would make up adventures and stories about him going on adventures with me. They were a little stuffed cat I carried around all the time.”**

**“W-wait.”** Catra interrupted, confused. **“A cat?”**

 **“Yeah.”** Glimmer said, equally confused. “… **A cat.”**

 **“Are you mocking me?”** Catra asked, rubbing her eyes with a hand. **“I’m too tired to tell if you’re mocking me.”**

**“I am not mocking you! Have you literally never heard of a cat? You’re name is Catra!”**

**“Obviously, I know about _magicats._ But what the _fuck_ is just-a-cat?”**

**“It’s just…a cat.”** Glimmer haltingly explained, glancing at Melog, where they rested on the entire lower half of the bed. **“They look like Melog, but smaller, and without the mane and glowy eyes and stuff.”**

 **“I don’t believe that.”** Catra said stubbornly.

 **“It’s true!”** Glimmer cried, throwing her hands up. **“How have you _never_ heard of a cat before?”**

 **“I lived in the Fright Zone for like, my whole life!”** Catra argued, though the playful air remained, despite the confusion. **“Literally _nothing_ lived there except for us, and maybe rats.”**

**“Is that why Adora didn’t know what a horse was?”**

**“Yeah, duh. The only living thing in the Fright Zone was like…birds, sometimes. When it was like Flying Time, sometimes birds would come and hit the window. Everyone’s favorite animal was a bird.”** Catra wasn’t sure _why,_ but the birds would fly over the Fright Zone at the same time each year. It was always the month before the first snow. She and Adora used to stand outside, heads leaned back for hours just trying to catch sight of the first bird formation winging by. Sure, it made their necks hurt, but it was worth it to see the flying creatures, even so briefly. Plus, it meant she hung out with Adora.

 **“…What type of bird, though?”** Glimmer asked, staring at the closed window as though a bird would come through. **“There are like a thousand different birds.”**

**“My favorite bird’s a canary. I had one once.”**

**“Aw, you had a pet?”** Glimmer clasped her hands together, smiling broadly.

**“No, I had a snack.”**

**“CATRA!”** Glimmer’s face fell so fast that it was almost comical. Catra grinned, knocked away Glimmer’s hand as she swatted her ear.

 **“I’m joking! It hit a window! I _did_ tell Adora I was going to eat it.” **Catra admitted, purring gleefully. **“But I didn’t mean it! Me and Adora released it on the roof. It was fine.”** That was a fun memory. Adora thought it was so fascinating to see a bird up close, that she kept one of its feathers, hiding it under her pillow. She’d show it to anyone who asked, until Shadow Weaver found out, and took it away. It was fun while it lasted, which was the best you could ask for in the Fright Zone.

**“How did you know it was a canary, though?”**

**“I saw a picture in a book while I was here.”** Catra explained. She had been absently flipping through books in the library at some point, and it just so happened to be about birds. Of course, she recognized the bird from her special memory with Adora. She would never forget it. **“It was yellow and white.”**

 **“My favorite bird is a blue-jay.”** Glimmer put in. 

Catra knew what a bluejay looked like from the book as well, but she had never seen one in real life. They were pretty. She teased her anyways. **“Aw, what a precious princess bird! Does it sparkle, too?”** she cooed.

**“Excuse you, but bluejays are awesome. They’re super tiny, but they think they’re the shit. They’re crazy aggressive and territorial. Tiny but deadly. I love that.”**

**“Reminds me of someone.”** Catra purred.

**“Okay, if you’re mocking my height, we’re like the same size.”**

**“ _Anyways,_ back to Mr. Sparklepaws.” **Catra redirected, still purring, the perfect resemblance of the little cat on her shirt.

 **“Oh, _now_ you wanna hear about Mr. Sparklepaws.” **Glimmer scoffed, to which Catra nodded innocently. **“Fine. When I was younger, I followed my mom around everywhere because there was nothing else to do. To make sure I didn’t get in the way, she gave me and Mr. Sparklepaws adventures to go on.”** She smiled at the thought, continuing, **“So we’d go running around the castle the whole day, trying to find a certain item that was supposed to be special.”**

**“I wanna say that’s lame, but that’s kinda cute.”**

Glimmer nodded. **“When I got sick, my mom would cover me up in blankets and tell me stories about Mr. Sparklepaws.”**

Catra sighed and laughed despite it. **“Oh, no, don’t tell me you’re going to tell me one now.”**

 _“ **I want to hear about Mr. Sparklepaws.”** _Melog murmured, lifting their head up. Catra hadn’t realized they were still awake -with their mane the same sickly color she was feeling, she thought they had passed out, as lethargic as she should’ve been. They had their ears tilted forward in interest, listening closely. 

**“I’m trying to help you go to sleep, fuzzy.”** Glimmer said defensively, though smiling. **“Honestly, you’d think you _want_ to stay up forever.”**

 **“Fine, continue.”** Catra complied, glancing over at Melog. _You owe me one,_ she mouthed. Melog purred. 

**“Prepare to hear the Tales of Mr. Sparklepaws and the Magical Ocean Pearl!”**

**“Can’t you just call them ‘Paws? What a mouthful.”**

**“Seems disrespectful, but I’ll allow just this once.”** Glimmer agreed reluctantly, **“Anyways, once upon a time, there was a really cool princess called Shimmer.”**

 **“Do I know her?”** Catra asked.

**“Oh, hush! You’re supposed to be asleep.”**

**“Right, sorry.”**

**“Over the ocean, the weather seemed to grow worse and worse with each passing day, and the waves grew more severe and dangerous. The King of Sailneas -this was before Mermista -was worried that the bad conditions were caused by the sea monsters, and so he requested help from Princess Shimmer, and her Royal Advisor, who was a cat, Mr. Sparklepaws.”**

Somewhere, in the safety of Glimmer’s shadow and steadiness of her voice, Catra’s exhaustion finally hit her. After three weeks of hiding and ignoring her symptoms and pain, she was finally lying down, comfortable and cared for, and at the moment she doubted she’d ever get back up again. Her throat was sore, her eyes and nose stung and burned, and her whole body ached with fatigue and illness. But somehow, her chest felt light with laughter and she seemed to fit perfectly pressed against Glimmer. 

The weight of her earlier tears seemed to hang under her eyes, and she allowed them to close, relaxing in the warmth her closeness to both Glimmer and Melog gave her. She barely caught even the beginning of Glimmer’s story. The soothing voice faded into something of a haze as she drifted off into sleep, trusting and quiet.

* * *

It didn’t take long for Catra to fall asleep, nestled as comfortably as she was on Glimmer’s lap. As much as she argued against the story of ‘Paws, the fact was that bedtime stories were just scientifically proven to make you fall asleep, regardless of their content. 

Glimmer could’ve told a better story, perhaps, but there wasn’t much better than the memories of Mr. Sparklepaws. 

She wondered if she still had the plush hidden away somewhere.

Now that Catra was asleep, and Glimmer had taken the necessary time to admire how cute she was, she began her next mission: telling Bow what was going on. She had kept the Tracker Pad close, but evidently not close enough. It lay just out of reach on the bedside table.

This was clearly a delicate operation. Waking up Catra was not an option. She knew that simply trying to ease Catra off of her lap wouldn’t work: she doubted that Catra would be a heavy-sleeper of any kind, if she had sleeping habits anything like Adora’s. 

Glimmer leaned across the bed, trying her best to keep her legs as still and stable and she could. Though this wasn’t the hardest thing to do with Catra weighing her down, she found that the best she could do was lay halfway across the bed, feebly reaching for the bedside table, only a few inches out of her reach.

She should’ve expected this to happen. Her lap was undefended. She should’ve kept the trackerpad next to her, or at least taken her staff or something to further reach for it. Though she could summon her staff right to her hands, she suspected the resulting magic sparks would irritate Catra and wake her up for sure. 

Returning to her upright position, she tried to slowly scoot closer to the tracker pad. Despite her best efforts, resulting in her getting just a bit closer to the Tracker Pad, Catra’s ears flicked at the disturbance, her tail flicking. Glimmer quickly recognized the signs of waking up and froze.

Once she had gone still, she tried leaning over again, but she was still tragically out of reach. This time, at the mere act of disturbing the bed, Catra sleepily reacted, a disgruntled purr rumbling in her throat. By the time Catra was chill again, Glimmer couldn’t see how she was supposed to grab the tracker pad. She _could_ wait to tell Bow, but the thought of quietly sitting there until Catra woke up wasn’t the most appealing thing in the world.

A sparkle ignited over her head.

 **“Melog,”** she whispered softly, **“Pspspspspsps, Meloooog.”**

She reached over and poked Melog’s forehead with one finger. They reacted with a sniffing nose and flicking ears, but didn’t open their eyes until Glimmer began to pet their head. Confused and obviously disgruntled, they tilted their head, chuffing. 

**“Ssssh!”** Glimmer hushed, pulling her hand away. **“Melog, could you help me?”**

Melog didn’t say anything, but they also didn’t go back to sleep.

 **“Could you get the Trackerpad there?”** Glimmer pointed at the trackerpad.

Melog’s ears flattened, and their expression read, _Really? You woke me up for this?_ Slowly, they stood up, taking their sweet time stretching as they did so. They blinked at the trackerpad, making to step across Catra, which Glimmer could barely move to block fast enough. **“No!”** she hissed, **“No waking up Catra! She’s sleeping! Go the other way.”**

Melog glanced at her, an obvious glare in their tired eyes.

 **“Please.”** Glimmer added.

Reluctantly, Melog did as asked. They picked up the Trackerpad in their mouth -now Glimmer and Bow’s pads would have matching teeth marks! Relationship goals! -and dropped it next to Glimmer.

 **“Thank you!”** Glimmer whispered, and Melog purred, but if Melog’s could roll their eyes, they definitely were. As she turned the Pad on, Melog returned to the bed and settled down silently, mindful of Catra’s space.

It took a moment for Bow to pick up, and that moment almost ruined everything.

 **“Glimmer!”** Bow greeted happily. 

**“Hush!”** Glimmer snapped, finger in front of her lips. 

**“Oh, uh, sorry.”** Bow lowered his voice, though bewilderment accompanied each word. **“Did you find Catra?”** he asked, in an appropriate whisper.

Instead of answering, Glimmer flipped the trackerpad around, displaying the image of the two sleeping cats. 

**“How did you do that?”** Bow asked, shocked, upon Glimmer turning the trackerpad around. His expression alone was enough to make it worth it that her legs were already falling asleep. 

**“Impressive, I know.”** She said, smiling proudly. **“Melog showed me where Catra was hiding. It seems like she caught the flu sometime around Adora left -maybe from that big crowd when we were loading up the supplies. She was hiding it for a while: I guess she was at her limit yesterday, with Mermista.”**

 **“Aw, that’s terrible!”** Bow said sympathetically. **“Why didn’t she tell us?”**

 **“Oh, you know, just a healthy mixture of that Horde mentality of ‘getting help is weakness’, ‘never talk about your emotions’, as well as ‘don’t be a burden’ thrown in.”** Glimmer explained, sighing wearily at the end. **“She was really upset about it. But we talked about it, and she’s chilling out now.”**

 **“That’s great.”** Bow said, **“I’m proud of you, Glimmer.”**

 **“Awww, thanks. It’s hard being the Responsible Friend; makes me appreciate you more.”** Glimmer smiled, though at Catra’s sudden shift she was reminded of her initial intention. **“Hey, are you busy right now?”**

**“Nope. I just finished talking to Juliet. What do you need?”**

**“Could you get me all my schedules and shit from my desk?”** Glimmer asked, stifling a laugh at the growing confusion on Bow’s face. **“I need to reschedule all my meetings. Catra and I are having a slumber party.”**

Bow’s eyes lit up, and Glimmer giggled helplessly at how cute he was. **“That sounds fun!”** he said, and quickly quieted himself back to a whisper. **“Is it just a Catra-and-Glimmer thing, or…?”**

**“Of course you can join us. I brought a desk up here -,”**

**“I was wondering who took my desk.”** Bow said, **“I’ll be right there!”**

Glimmer didn’t have a chance to respond before the TrackerPad flicked off. At first, she resented the immediate silence, but after a moment, noticed the dull rumble of a purr, steady in the background, from both Catra and Melog.

 **“I would be mad about you crushing my legs…”** she said out loud, more to herself than Catra, **“But it’s pretty hard when you’re that cute.”** She giggled to herself, and in the absence of response, found herself content to be quiet in the moment.

* * *

Bow made it to Catra’s room in record time, hoisting the contents of her desk, pencils and pens barely balanced upon the top of the stack of paper. Carefully, he had to open the door, balancing on one foot and pushing down the handle with the other, internally screaming at how the hinges of the door wailed upon opening.

The room was dark, and yet he could see Glimmer sitting the on the bed. Her smile was enough to light up the room, although of late, after achieving a full connection with the Moonstone, she seemed to give off a faint glow. At her side, he could just barely see Catra illuminated, laying on Glimmer’s lap, her face pressed into her crossed arms. She was sound asleep.

Carefully, Bow slipped into the room, dropping the stack of paper (softly) onto the desk, and was quick enough to turn around and catch the door before it slammed closed. 

**“Hi, Glimmer.”** He smiled, turning to greet her. **“What do you think?”** He asked, spinning so she could see his outfit.

 **“I am both impressed by how quickly you changed,”** Glimmer first noted in a whisper, **“And how you managed to find a pajama version of your crop top.”**

 **“I’m always prepared for a slumber party.”** He assured, sitting next to her on the bed. 

**“If we want a slumber party, we’d better get started on revamping this schedule.”** She said, gesturing at the papers Bow had retrieved. **“Thanks, by the way.”**

 **“Anything for my Queen.”** Bow answered, leaning forward as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hugging him closely just to press a kiss against his cheek. **“Now, let’s fix this schedule!”**

It turned out to be easier than anticipated to rework the schedule. It was already planned to be a slow day for Glimmer -hence why she had the time to care for Catra so suddenly -but the work to upkeep a Kingdom never ended. Though past the initial struggle to right Bright Moon after the war, the effort had not lessened, just changed. 

Some meetings stayed rooted within their timeframes: it was difficult to rearrange meetings with other Princesses, as all kingdoms faced a similar workload. Some cases were easy to hand off to others, either by requesting someone to take notes to be reviewed, or just requesting that the information be written down instead of given verbally. This required calling multiple people on the TrackerPad. Bow spoke to them in the hallway, careful not to disturb Catra, while Glimmer remained where she was, reviewing the schedule.

Micah was happy to take over some of Glimmer’s duties. Always the proud father, he couldn’t help but sprinkle in several compliments for Glimmer, pleased by how caring his daughter had grown to be. It was hard to end that conversation, since Bow kept agreeing with him, which only furthered the conversation. By the end of it, they had decided on a fair amount of responsibilities Micah was willing to take on, as well as thoroughly agreeing that Glimmer was a great queen.

Bow then spoke to Spinnerella and Netossa. Though he had intended only to speak to Spinnerella, it was no surprise that she was accompanied by her wife. They were incredibly supportive upon the explanation of the situation.

 **“That’s so sweet of you two!”** Spinnerella said, **“I’m going to make Catra a get-well card.”**

 **“I’m gonna make her a better one.”** Netossa answered, earning a playful glare from her wife. **“We’ll take over the meetings, but _only_ if I get bragging rights for basically acting as Queen.”**

 **“I don’t know if I can promise that.”** Bow laughed awkwardly. 

**“Whatever.”** Netossa said, rolling her eyes. 

**“Don’t worry, Tossa.”** Spinnerella comforted sweetly, **“You’ll always be my Queen. We’ll happily take over the meetings, Bow.”**

 **“Awww, Spinny, that’s so cute!!”** Netossa grinned, throwing her arms around her wife.

Bow had hung up after that, and couldn`t help but wonder if maybe, he and Glimmer would be like that one day. Shaking his head, he hurried back to Glimmer to let her know the good news.

Despite their rescheduling, neither Bow or Glimmer were willing to completely hand off their responsibilities to others and were left with a healthy amount of work. This included documents, updates, and reports to read, and outlines for plans of action to be made. Bow worked at the desk, while Glimmer read documents from the bed, summoning a small plume of fire for light.

The silence was familiar between him and Glimmer, comfortable and secure. They didn’t feel the need to fill the air with discussion, and the flow of work quickly became rhythmic. An hour into their endeavor, Glimmer reviewed a map of settlements requiring aid, as Bow inked out a response to the mayor of Eralandia, requesting supplies.

Bow’s scrawling signature, inked at the bottom of the letter, glided smoothly across the paper -until his hand jolted with the surprise of a sudden shriek, slicing a line straight through it. 

**“NO!”** Catra had startled awake, her clawed hands gripping the blanket. Melog shot up beside her, snarling at nothing, confusedly swinging their head left and right. Catra gasped, tears welling in her half-opened eyes, until her frantic gaze caught onto Glimmer, who had yet to react in her surprise. **“G-Glimmer? What?”** Her voice was painfully thin, garbled.

 **“Hi, Catra. I’m here.”** Glimmer soothed, her head tilted questioningly though her expression soft. **“Bad dream?”**

Bow picked up the cloth that Catra had thrown in her wake, noting how lukewarm it had grown. He discarded it onto the bedside table as he took his place next to the two. Catra blinkingly shook her head, squinting at Bow like he was a familiar face she couldn’t quite place. 

**“Uh…”** Catra swallowed difficultly, pulling herself from Glimmer’s lap. **“Y-yeah.”**

After her time of sleeping, Bow suspected that she was probably parched -her voice sounded as much. He offered her a glass of water from the bedside table, scooting closer as she took it. Glimmer took the chance to stretch her legs, sliding off the bed and allowing Bow to take her place next to Catra.

 **“Hey, Catra, I’m going to touch your forehead, alright?”** Bow asked, extending his hand, and Catra nodded, though her flicking ears didn’t seem to be fully listening. She basically could’ve been on fire. **“You probably had a fever dream.”** Bow explained, drawing his hand away. **“An unhappy side-effect of fevers.”**

Catra didn’t answer, silently staring off, eyes unfocused, over Bow’s shoulder. 

**“Do you think you could get another cloth for her, Glimmer?”** Bow asked, and Glimmer nodded, happily taking the excuse to move. She didn’t even teleport downstairs. When Bow returned his gaze to Catra, she barely seemed to register his presence, blinking off somewhere into the dark corners of the room.

 **“You seem pretty upset by your dream.”** Bow said, snapping Catra’s attention back to him. **“Do you wanna talk about it?”**

Catra paused, debating, but Melog pushed their head against her side and she petted them, seemingly unconsciously pulling her legs towards her to hug herself. **“…I guess.”** She mumbled scratchily. **“I dreamt I was on Horde Prime’s ship. I was trying to find Glimmer.”**

Bow didn’t know much about Catra’s point of view of her and Glimmer’s time with Horde Prime. He could already see her eyes watering, and so he scooted closer to her. **“Horde Prime’s ship was terrifying for you and Glimmer.”** He said. **“That must’ve been stressful.”**

 **“I…thought I was there again.”** She said, voice wavering. Melog nuzzled against her, but she wrapped her arms around her legs, ignoring them. **“It was so realistic. I kept turning down halls, but they’d be the same ones, over and over. It was like when…”**

**“You saved Glimmer?”**

**“I wanted to find her. In the dream, I knew I didn’t have time to get lost, but I just couldn’t find the right path. I was just getting more and more lost…and I could hear the soldiers coming, from everywhere. Their footsteps were so loud.”** Catra’s hands pressed against her ears, as though still hearing them. **“They were getting closer but I couldn’t find Glimmer but I could _hear_ her and then I could hear Adora somewhere but she was mad at me, like when we were fighting.” **Her hands clamped her ears down, and Melog murred and nuzzled her, but she didn’t respond. 

Bow instinctively reached out to touch her, to ground her, but paused. **“Can I touch you?”** he asked, **“I want to help you, but I don’t want to scare you.”**

Catra blinked, pressing her eyes closed, and wiping her eyes with one hand. **“Y-yes, please.”** She managed, and Bow happily closed the gap between them. He put his arm around her shoulder, watching carefully, and she stuttered out a tearful laugh. **“You’re g-good. I won’t bite.”**

 **“You never know.”** Bow said, smiling weakly. **“Your dream sounds really upsetting. You must’ve felt really scared.”**

 **“…yeah.”** Catra said, and to Bow’s surprise, she leaned against him. Melog pushed their head underneath her arm, snuggling against her chest. **“Nothing I tried worked. I tried calling for Glimmer, but my voice wouldn’t work. I tried to talk to Adora, and find her, and tell her I was so sorry for…everything I did, but every time I talked to her she disappeared. I couldn’t find Glimmer and I couldn’t talk to Adora and -,”** her voice wavered with despair, eyes teary. **“I felt so helpless, and hopeless, and useless. I just got weaker and weaker and my voice stopped working and then Horde Prime showed up -,”** she broke off there, pursing her lips together.

 **“You don’t have to tell me anymore if you don’t want.”** Bow assured. 

Catra nodded. **“I know it wasn’t real.”** She said, **“But it just…reminded me of how close I was to losing everything. I guess I’m still worried about losing it all, now.”**

Bow hugged her, and she purred in response, shaky and raspy. **“It’s hard to move past the bad things that have happened.”** He said, **“But you’re here now, and we’re not letting you go. You’re our friend, and I’m so glad that we get to be together, even if you _are_ snotty.”**

 **“Thanks, Bow.”** Catra said lightly, tinged with a weak laugh.

**“If I get sick from hugging you, I’m going to cry, and then you have to comfort me.”**

**“Being sick and crying seems to be part of the territory.”** Catra said, wiping her eyes. 

With perfect timing, Glimmer reappeared, pushing open the door, surprisingly holding a tray stacked with small snacks and drinks, as well as the fresh new cloth. **“The kitchen staff wouldn’t let me leave without some treats for you, Catra.”** She beamed, closing the door with her foot. **“Are you feeling okay?”**

Catra smiled into her hand, a surprised purr making her cough. **“I still feel like actual shit.”** She assured, **“But I’m not upset about the dream anymore.”**

 **“I _knew_ you and Bow would bond.” **Glimmer said, pleased, setting the tray down on the nightstand. 

**“Do you want to go back to sleep?”** Bow asked.

Catra paused. **“Maybe not right now.”** She mumbled, looking for approval out of the corners of her eyes.

 **“That’s perfect!”** Bow said, **“I have the best idea of what to do! Wait here!”**

* * *

In the time it took Bow to return, Glimmer had pushed the folded blankets onto the floor, ringing them with pillows. She pulled the drapes back open, flooding the room with warm, cozy sunshine. Bow’s arrival was accompanied with a handful of board games that had barely seen interaction in years. With the war and strife, board games had fallen from favor in the castle -though briefly, Adora and Catra had been taught the basic ones, which quickly turned their first Game Night since Glimmer was five to the most competitive day since the war’s end.

 **“Yesss, you got Moon-o!”** Glimmer cheered, as Bow set the boxes down next to the blankets. 

Catra rolled out of bed, settling next to Bow. **“I like that game.”** She commented. Through the weeping of her eyes, a competitive gleam shone through.

**“Yeah, of course you like it! You won in like, five turns last time.”**

It took little convincing for Bow to spread Moon-o cards amongst them. It was easy to play, barely requiring any attention, except for the casual ring of jokes and small talks passed as quickly as the cards. In the time it took to play several games, Catra won most of them -and Glimmer was pretty sure she was cheating.

 **“You can’t let her do that!”** Glimmer cried, throwing a hand at Catra leaning against Bow’s shoulder. **“She’s totally looking at your cards.”** Melog, from where they sat with their head resting on Glimmer’s shoulder, huffed indigently, assumingly defensive of Catra.

 **“Am not.”** Catra insisted, though her smile said otherwise. Casually, she flicked her singular card against her chest. **“Moon-o, by the way.”**

**“Cheating!”**

Bow laughed; his hand full of a rainbow deck of cards. **“I can’t help it.”** he defended, **“How am I supposed to say no when she’s _purring?”_**

Glimmer narrowly listened as Catra’s purr grew louder with each turn. Bow was of no help changing the color of the cards, insisting on placing a blue one, although with the amount of cards he had, he probably had a number of each color. Glimmer managed to skip Catra’s turn, but once again, Bow was of no help -not even Glimmer’s reversal card could save them from the end of the game.

Catra played a +4, smugly flicking the multi-colored card onto the pile.

 **“You can’t use a +4 on the last turn!”** Glimmer gleefully accused. **“That’s against the rules.”**

 **“It wasn’t last time.”** Catra purred. Glimmer cursed herself for allowing the rules to be bent the first time they played. What had made for a fun gaming experience had hung around just long enough to nip Glimmer’s fingers just as she got close to her final card.

 **“It says in the rules that you can’t use a +4 at the end of the game!”** Glimmer argued, unfolding the rule book, pointing out the exact wording. **“Your win is invalid. Draw another card!”**

**“Come on, Glimmer, she’s sick! Let her win!”**

**“Don’t baby me.”** Catra flicked her hand against Bow’s shoulder, dismissing his attempt to aid her. **“This is my win, fair and square. I don’t _need_ to break the rules to win.” **With that, she drew another card, casually adding, **“By the way, the colors red.”**

Bow, however supportive he was, made a mistake as he placed his Red Seven card. With a triumphant laugh, Glimmer slammed down the second of her two cards -a Blue Seven, reversing the change. **“Nice try, Catra, but I guess you can’t whittle a win out of this one!”** Glimmer grinned, **“Moon-o.”**

 **“Moon-o.”** Catra answered coolly. With that, she dropped her final card on the pile -a Blue Three. At Glimmer’s expense, she laughed for far too long, pleased with herself even after the game had been properly cleaned up. (Catra, with her sick privileges, got to lounge around on the bed and watch, teasing Glimmer all the while, as they cleaned and set up a new game.)

The second game they played was much longer, called Settlers of the Woods. It was based around the Whispering Woods, in which each player played as a tree, intent on spreading their roots and growing saplings through out the forest and collecting enough points to win. Doing so required different cards that needed to be traded in for sapling or root pieces, and getting these cards required claiming territory by planting saplings, or by trading with the other players. 

With less fear of cheating, Glimmer sighingly allowed Catra to use her as a pillow. She was clearly making up for _obviously_ cheating during Moon-o by being all cuddly now. Still, Glimmer made sure to keep her cards out of Catra’s reach. Just in case. Melog took Catra’s place leaning on Bow, nearly squishing him.

Settlers of the Tree required long turns, slowing the excitement from Moon-o to a calmer atmosphere. Settlers of the Trees also happened to be one of Bow’s favorite games, likely because archers were a collectable card within the game; if you collected the most of them to defend your trees, you received additional points. Bow made sure to barter for and collect as many archers as possible.

As Glimmer and Bow vied for victory, Catra’s turns got shorter and shorter, as she silently focused on increasing her roots, expertly weaving her way around to collect all five supply cards with no need for trading. However, while her plan would seem to ensure another win for her, she kept making bad trades -Glimmer managed to convince Catra to trade a valuable card for three worthless ones, which she barely registered -as well as miscounting her cards.

At some point, during a lengthy debate between Glimmer and Bow, both attempting to undersell and oversell to each-other, Catra fell asleep.

This halted their haggling -which was annoying, seeing as Glimmer was just about to convince him -as she tried to make the case for receiving a majority of Catra’s cards. **“She’s asleep on _me._ She clearly intended for me to take her cards.”**

 **“As a show of gratitude after my support in Moon-o, I think Catra would want me to have the cards.”** Bow insisted.

**“So you were bribing her!”**

In the end, the cards were split evenly, with them discarding an uneven card. 

Bow and Glimmer played on their own while Catra dozed. The additional cards gave Glimmer a winning edge, but as always with Settlers of the Trees, the game ended in a tie, concluded early as Bow had to leave for a brief meeting with Perfuma over the TrackerPad. 

Bow’s departure, no matter how quietly he snuck away and opened the door, still ended up waking Catra. Grumpily, she allowed Bow to leave with minimal complaints, and even more grumpily, she helped Glimmer to clean up the game, regardless of her sick privileges. 

**“Who won?”** she asked, shoveling pieces back into their proper bags.

 **“Not you. I didn’t realize you could sleep so much in one day, let alone during a game _.”_** Glimmer teased, folding up the instructions. Catra flicked a game piece at her, nailing her in the forehead, and Glimmer, after briefly fumbling with the piece, threw it right back. Catra, annoyingly, caught it, sticking her tongue out at her. **“Neither of us won.”** Glimmer said, **“It was a tie. But I totally would’ve won if Bow didn’t have to leave.”**

 **“Keep telling yourself that.”** Catra answered, glancing at the spread remains of Glimmer’s pieces. 

**“What’s that supposed to mean?”** Glimmer asked, swiping up her pieces.

Catra shrugged. **“Nothing. I think Bow stood a fair chance, is all. But if _I_ played, I would’ve won.”**

 **“Keep telling yourself that.”** Glimmer answered.

After the pieces had been cleaned up, Catra collapsed back into bed, thoroughly exhausted from the effort it took be conscious. Glimmer expected her to fall back asleep, but she didn’t, and after several minutes of ignoring Catra shifting around while she tried to read, Glimmer glanced back, noticing the empty tray on the nightstand.

Though the chefs had provided the party with snacks, Catra had declined to eat any of them, citing “already feeling like puking” as the reason, insisting that they have them instead. Bow and Glimmer were happy to oblige. Seeing the remaining crumbs, Glimmer was reminded that Catra hadn’t had breakfast, despite Glimmer’s efforts to save her some.

Glimmer asked, **“Hey, are you hungry?”**

Catra glanced up from where she was lying face-down in Melog’s fur. **“Maybe.”**

 **“You haven’t eaten since yesterday, have you?”** Glimmer remembered, **“And you barely ate anything at dinner anyways. How are you _not_ starving to death right now?”**

Catra shrugged. **“I was just ignoring it.”** she said. **“It feels like I have a cheese grater in my mouth. I don’t really want to eat anything.”**

 **“I think, as a good friend, it’s my responsibility to make sure you don’t starve to death while you’re sick.”** Glimmer said, feeling a little guilty for not realizing it before. Dinner was soon: the sun was barely setting, and Adora would call at some time around dusk. **“It’s not _that_ long until dinner -,” **Catra’s pupils went wide, her ears standing right up, probably thinking about talking to Adora. **“-but you know the best part about being sick?”**

Catra’s ears fell again, as she thought about it. **“Is that a trick question?”**

**“It’s snacks!”**

Catra quirked an eyebrow, not following. Glimmer supposed the Horde probably wasn’t too big on snacks, then. Catra tilted her head, probably trying to think of a food within the ‘snack’ category, and she said with a nod, **“Oh, like ration bars. Only if it’s the gray ones.”**

 **“No!”** Glimmer waved an arm, dispelling the idea. Rations bars looked _disgusting._ **“I meant ice cream!”**

 **“If you want to get me ice cream, I won’t stop you.”** Catra said, in the way that suggested she wanted the ice cream but didn’t want to admit it. Melog blinked, raising their head and meowing. **“Can Melog have ice cream, too?”** Catra asked.

 **“Uh, sure, but I don’t know what type they can eat.”** Glimmer said. **“…I’ll just get them vanilla, to be safe.”**

Glimmer made sure to get the best of the best. She teleported down to the kitchen, nearly giving Baker a heart-attack, though they were happy to help her make ice cream. Though it was difficult to convince them to make full-sized ice creams instead of mini ones, by the time she returned, she had three bowls full of sprinkles and flavorful scoops -and one plain one, for Melog.

Melog happily took to theirs, leaping upon it the moment Glimmer placed the bowl on the bed (It might be unsanitary, but it felt rude to make them eat on the floor). Though Catra was, as always, a bit suspicious of the new food. She had taken to a majority of the food offered in Bright Moon with little compliant, but now she held her spoon warily. 

**“What’s those little confetti things?”** she asked.

 **“Those are sprinkles!”** Glimmer answered, already eating her ice cream. **“They’re little, but they’re very tasty, I promise.”**

**“Why is Melog’s white, and mine…green?”**

**“Melog’s is vanilla! That’s just plain ice-cream, because I don’t know what’s safe for Melog to eat.”** Glimmer explained, and indigently, Melog glanced up from their bowl. **“I didn’t know what flavors you liked, so we just guessed. Soda Pop thought you might like mint chocolate chip.”**

**“What’s it made of?”**

**“Uh, mint. And chocolate.”**

**“Hm.”** Catra studied her own bowl, glancing over at Glimmer’s. **“What’s yours?”**

 **“I’m not sharing, first of all.”** Glimmer said quickly, hiding her bowl behind her cape. Catra rolled her eyes playfully. **“Mine’s cookie-dough ice cream. It’s the best one.”**

 **“I’m trusting this not to poison me.”** Catra said.

 **“Well, you just ruined my evil plan.”** Glimmer pouted. **“Way to go.”**

Catra took a bite of the ice cream. 

None of Catra’s reactions to food had been as intense as Adora’s discovery that food could have flavor. She was always much more reserved, complimenting food with a shrug and ‘it’s fine’, citing her days of the illegal horde food trade as her dismissal towards new food. However, ice cream clearly was a new experience: at the taste, her eyes went wide, ears standing up in interest. 

Before Glimmer could stop her, Catra had finished half the bowl.

 **“I’m glad you like it,”** Glimmer said, apologetically, **“But you might’ve wanted to slow down.”**

Catra paused, looking at Glimmer, confused. **“Why?”** she asked. Immediately after, she yelped with surprise, her hands pressing against her head. **“ACK! Why is it so cold?!”** She stuck out her tongue as though that would rid herself of the icy feeling. Similarly, Melog shook their head, the tips of their mane a frigid blue.

 **“…Yeah, that’s called ‘brain freeze.’”** Glimmer explained. She probably should’ve warned them about that -she supposed Catra had never encountered ice cream before. Maybe it melted too fast at the Fright Zone, making it unusable within the food trade. **“…It’ll wear off in a second.”**

 **“Ugh, it’s horrible!”** Catra cried, dramatically flopping onto the bed. **“I knew you were trying to kill me!”**

 **“Now that I think about it,”** Glimmer said, watching Catra’s dramatic display, **“Ice-cream might not be a bad weapon, considering how fast it took you down.”**

 **“As though I wasn’t already weak enough.”** Catra complained, pressing her face into a pillow miserably.

 **“You gonna finish that ice-cream?”** Glimmer asked, pointing at Catra’s abandoned bowl, still with a scoop left. It would be a waste to let that ice cream melt, so she was really just asking to be a good friend. Or, that’s what she was telling herself. 

Melog put their head over Catra’s, and her voice came out, muffled. **“No. _You_ get brain-freeze.”**

Glimmer took her seat on the bed, sympathetically patting Catra’s head while she complained for several minutes. Melog mrowed in annoyance, pawing their face with a low rumble of a growl. Glimmer giggled. **“Honestly, you two are such babies. Were you really a war general, Catra?”**

 **“War generals didn’t have to deal with brain-freeze!”** Catra snapped. **“How can I be this hot _and_ cold at once?!” **

Catra’s snarl was accompanied by the opening of the door at Bow’s return. **“Hey, guys!”** He greeted, waving, clutching his TrackerPad against his side. **“I’m back! Did you miss me -Glimmer, did you kill Catra?!”** He cried, cut off at the sight of Catra and Melog lying on the bed, seemingly in despair.

Glimmer laughed, shaking her head. **“She did it to herself.”** She shrugged, **“I gave her ice-cream and she got brain-freeze.”**

 **“I am in no way at fault for this!”** Catra interjected.

 **“You had ice cream?”** Bow asked indigently, dropping the TrackerPad onto the bed. **“First of all, _without_ me? And second of all, before _dinner?”_**

**“She was hungry! I thought ice cream was a perfect snack.”**

**“Not before dinner! I’m going to tell Adora about this.”**

**“Why, so she could be jealous?”** Glimmer asked, stacking the empty bowls. **“Catra’s very lucky to get ice cream before dinner.”**

 **“How is it that you’re the Queen and in charge of Bright Moon,”** Bow asked, slowly, **“But I can’t even trust you not to spoil dinner! With ice cream! Without inviting me!”**

**“If _you_ want to get ice cream, then be my guest.”**

**“…Maybe.”**

* * *

In the hour before Adora called, Catra was encouraged to rest. The day had been eventful and emotional, and even with several hours between dusk and the rising stars, Catra was exhausted. Her throat hurt, both from the ill rawness as well as worn thin by the talking and laughing (and crying) she had managed to fit all into one day. 

Even with the medicine and care she was given, it didn’t stop her body from hurting or her head from swimming. She was glad to lay in bed, vaguely listening to Bow and Glimmer talking, resting half-awake with her arms crossed over Glimmer’s lap, staring blinkingly out the window.

With the setting sun, her anticipation rose, her tail gently flicking back and forth as she stared out the window. Though safely hidden underneath the blankets, her hair being gently played with by Glimmer, absently doing so as she spoke. She should be relaxed- sleepy even. But a sinking feeling of dread was weighing itself in her stomach. 

Her ears were angled backwards, listening for the call of the TrackerPad signaling Adora’s appearance. She wanted to see Adora so much that it _ached_. She wanted to talk to her and speak truthfully and let herself smile instead of forcing it. She didn’t want to lie about being alright, insisting that she was fine, but part of her wondered if Adora would accept that.

Would she be annoyed that Catra’s overreaction was merely an outward display of sickness? Upset, that Catra had repeatedly lied and hid the truth? Offended, at the thought that Catra didn’t trust her? The twisting feeling in her stomach intensified along with her anxiety, making it hard to even think of sleeping.

What if Adora was angry? She didn’t want Adora to be angry. She didn’t even want her to worry in the first place. _And how did that turn out?_ Catra thought bitterly, her tail flicking sharply. 

She wanted to prove, for herself and to Adora, that she was stronger than whatever help she might receive…but it turned out that it wasn’t making her stronger, but weaker. While she could’ve been receiving aid from the start, avoiding the whole situation, she instead mulled about in the garden, pulling up flowers and calling them weeds.

But she wanted to prove, to Adora, that she didn’t need to be worried about Catra. After everything Catra had put her through, surely that was what she would’ve wanted: but Glimmer and Bow had been more than happy to help. Every moment she expected them to leave or turn on her, they stayed, and most times even made it better. Even Melog stayed by her side the whole time, even after she lied the whole time.

Melog shifted, resting their head and a hefty paw on Catra’s hip. The grounding weight made Catra blink, breaking her gaze away from the drowning sun. Catra sighed, agitated. She was chasing her tail in circles. She turned over to stare up at the ceiling, trying not to count down until Adora’s call, though she couldn’t help it.

Her mind turned over the scenario repeatedly, trying to think of a way to talk her way out of punishment. Part of her knew that Adora would never do anything to upset her. The louder part of her talked in warnings learned from the Horde. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to drown out the thoughts.

**“Bow! Glimmer! How’s Catra?”**

It felt like only a second that her eyes had closed, and in that second it was though thousands of thoughts, ideas, and fears had swarmed for her attention. The sound of Adora’s voice was enough to jolt her out of it, staying still when she noted that she couldn’t really see -Glimmer must’ve have reapplied the cloth, while Catra’s mind traveled to the anxiety dimension. 

Bow laughed, clearly unprepared. **“Oh, Catra? Well, she’s fine, technically.”**

Catra groaned internally. She hadn`t imagined a scenario where Bow got flustered. She would’ve sat up and corrected him, but the knot tying itself in her stomach warned her that swift movement would be accompanied with pain.

 **“What do you mean _technically?”_** Adora’s voice grew shrill. 

Catra cringed, and her headache suddenly struck her with intensity. _Adora must’ve worried all day! I don’t know how to fix this!_ Through her tangle of thoughts, she tried to figure out how to rework this, to calm Adora down, to calm down her own fight-or-flight response. 

**“Catra has the flu, Adora. She’s fine.”** Glimmers voice broke through Adora’s shrills, calm and decisive. Catra could’ve kissed her. Maybe that would calm Adora down—

 **“The flu?!”** Adora shrieked, interrupting Catra’s thoughts. **“What even is that?! Did she -did you get it away from her?”**

_Or maybe not._

**“No, no, the flu’s more like -it’s an illness, not like, an object or something.”** Bow tried to explain, **“It’s like a cold, but like, worse.”**

**“Worse! Where is she?”**

**“Ugh, Adora, I’m right here!”** Catra finally snapped, immediately regretful of the defensive tone of her voice she took on. She sat up, dropping the cloth to her lap, and forcing a half-smile to the TrackerPad. She almost wished she didn’t: seeing Adora’s worry expressed right before her was worse than just imagining it. She knew she…didn’t look her best: with shadowy eyes and ruffled hair, she probably would worry Adora more. Nonetheless, she tried again, in a lighter tone. **“Do you like my new shirt?”**

 **“Catra! I was so worried about -oh.”** Adora paused. **“That’s a very cute shirt. Anyways, I was really worried about you! You seemed so upset last night.”**

Glimmer and Bow didn’t pitch in, seemingly leaving Catra to explain herself. Catra’s mind went through a million different excuses in the span of a second - _Who’s fault is that, pussy? -I don’t need you to worry about me -you’re overreacting -_ but she took a sideway glance at Glimmer, remembering their earlier conversation. 

**“I’m -I’m sorry I worried you.”** She began uncertainty, not quite sure where she was going. She wished her voice didn’t sound so drowned. **“I wasn’t mad at Mermista -I just wasn’t feeling well, and she was…there.”**

 **“It’s fine. Mermista’s fine.”** Adora said quickly, shaking her hand dismissively. **“She wasn’t really offended. She thought it was kinda funny! She said no-one’s ever called her Fish Sticks before.”** Adora tried for a smile, but Catra could see that it was forced, and her heart dropped. 

**“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”** She blurted out, barely managing to enunciate each word. **“I got sick just after you left, but I knew you were doing important stuff with Mermista, and I didn’t want you to worry about me, or for me to get in the way. I thought I could prove that you didn’t need to waste time worrying, so I didn’t ask Bow or Glimmer for help, either, and it just got worse, and I couldn’t fix it, and I didn’t know what to do -,”** her voice got faster and her eyes tearier. Glimmer, without any prompting, wrapped an arm around Catra, pressing her softly against her side. Catra breathed in shakily, cutting herself off before she worsened everything. Blinking away her tears, she asked, tail wrapping around her leg, **“Are you mad at me?”**

 **“Of course, I’m not mad at you!”** Adora cried, her own eyes suspiciously glossy. She reached out as if to wipe away Catras tears, and then seemed to remember that she wasn't actually there. **“You mean everything to me! You could never be in the way, because I always want you around. I know you didn’t want to scare me, but it was at the expensive of yourself -and I don’t want that. I just wanted to know so I could help you. I know you’d do the same for me.”** Catra felt relief wash over her, allowing her tense shoulders to fall as Adora flushed, seeming to realize what she`d said. **“T-that’s all.** Adora finished awkwardly.

 **“Y-yeah. I know.”** Catra purred scratchily, smiling genuinely. Adora could be such a dork. But she was her dork. **“I guess I knew. You’d never be mad at me for that -but I was scared, just in case.”**

Adora smiled back, that expression that was so loving and true that it was hard for Catra to acknowledge it was meant for her. **“Do you need me to come back?”** she asked, **“I should be done next week, but if you need me back sooner…”**

Catra thought about it for a moment. Adora’s comfort was something she could never say no to, as well as anytime with Adora at all. She wanted desperately to be back in Adora’s arms, to share their time and work together once again. 

However, she knew that Adora had work to do, and would be home soon regardless. Though the prospect of facing her sickness alone would’ve been daunting, Catra knew she wouldn’t. Glimmer, Bow, and Melog would be with here for the whole time, and she knew she would be safe until Adora’s return.

 **“You know I always want you around.”** Catra admitted, feeling a blush rising under her fur just at saying the words. **“But I think I’ll be okay. I’ve got Bow and Glimmer to tide me over until you get back.”**

 **“I’m glad.”** Adora answered.

Before Adora could continue, Catra broke in, unable to stop herself from expressing the light-hearted joy in her chest. **“I love you, Adora.”**

Adora’s blush was immediate, and she grinned. **“I love you, too, Catra.”** She beamed.

 **“Awwwwwww!”** Bow couldn’t help it to keep silent anymore. **“You guys are so cute!”**

Adora smiled brightly at Glimmer and Bow. **“Thank you guys. I knew you’d take care of each other.”**

 **“We wouldn’t let you down.”** Glimmer answered. **“Now, I’ve had enough of you Lovebirds.”**

Adora and Catra both laughed, guilty of their crimes. The conversation picked up afterwards, and Catra joined in this time, talking about everything she hadn’t been able to while swamped down with sickness. 

Though she had a long ways before she was fully better from the flu, she wasn’t alone anymore. With or without the sniffles, she was sure she would be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Hooray, my first post on AO3! I joined the She-Ra Fluffbang on a whim, and I'm glad that I did; not only am I ~very~ proud of how this turned out, but I got to talk to so many cool people and I hope we can remain friends. I was lucky enough to be paired with Troubled Odyssey for art of Sniffle, and I'm so happy I got to meet them! Not only are they a very cool person in general, but they are a crazy good artist, too! They're on Tumblr under the same name, so please go look at their beautiful art.


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